Donor hepatocytes instead of liver transplantation

The world's first liver cell transplant operation was performed in LondonABC Magazine based on BBC materials: Liver implant gives boy 'another chance of life'
London doctors managed to save the baby from a deadly virus that almost completely destroyed his liver.

The boy underwent the world's first operation to transplant donor liver cells, and now his life is not in danger. (Here he is, quite healthy and cute, in a picture from the website of the Iranian PressTV – VM.)

Six months ago, when he was only two months old, Iyad Syed was almost on the verge of death – his liver almost stopped functioning, the child needed constant hemodialysis and an artificial respiration machine. If the boy had been placed on the list of those in need of a donor liver, the wait could have stretched for a very long time, so doctors from the hospital at King's College London decided on a unique operation. The cells implanted into the child's abdominal cavity functioned as a "temporary liver", processing toxins and producing vital proteins. And two weeks after the operation, the boy's own liver began to recover.

Another innovation in this operation was the method of "deception" of the child's immune system, which could begin the rejection of donor cells. To prevent this, the cells were coated with a chemical found in algae, and the child's body "did not see" foreign cells. Thus, there is no need for long-term use of immunosuppressant drugs with a large number of side effects.

Professor Anil Dhawan, a hepatologist at the hospital, said that the entire medical staff was satisfied with the results of the operation. "It was the first time we decided on such an operation to treat a child with such a severe liver lesion," he says. – We helped the baby get a second chance to live a full life. Six months have passed since the operation, and he feels great, and his liver is functioning quite normally." Doctors hope that the surgery technique they have mastered will help other patients suffering from acute liver diseases. Every year in the UK, about 100 people die without waiting for a donor liver transplant operation.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru
18.11.2011